Why Your Blog Needs a Website
There’s been an uptick lately in microblogs, especially on Instagram. People are relying on social media for their blogs – both for finding readers and hosting the actual blog. This is never a good idea. Your social media should always be working for your blog, which should always be on its own website. Let’s talk about why it’s important your blog has a website.
You don’t own your social media
The reality is that social media is outside of your control. You don’t own your follower list, and you don’t even really own your content. They can shut down your page at any time because they ultimately have control. This means you could put in months or even years of work and lose it overnight with no chance of getting back. We’ve all heard the horror stories of Facebook refusing to give people their accounts back.
On the other hand, you own your blog and your website. You have complete control over the look and the content. You can even download the content at any time if you decide to shut it down. So, you’re never at risk of just losing your work. No one can take it from you.
You can do more with your blog
If your blog has a website, then you have more freedom about what you can do. There’s the obvious, which is you can talk about whatever you’d like. But you’re also able to dedicate space to promoting those products and services that you love (and that help make you money). You can have a shop or a favorite tools page. Then, because you own everything, you can easily direct readers to the avenues that help keep your blog profitable.
While we’re talking about this, if your blog has a website, you can make your social media bio link to your own website. This is great because it keeps people on your site, and you don’t need to pay someone else to host all your links. The key is to create a landing page on your website exclusively for social media with all the important links. Keep it simple but pretty (like this one from Ava and the Bee).
You can easily repurpose your content
If you’re writing long-form content for your blog already, you can easily repurpose that content for social media. It makes it much easier to come up with and batch out Instagram content if you’re writing one to two full blogs per week. You just need to take that content and break it down into smaller pieces. Wondering how you do that? I’ve got a blog post all about it!
You can increase your reach through other platforms
If you’re only on Instagram or only on Facebook, then it’ll be more difficult to create a big audience. It’s certainly doable, but if you have a blog on your website, then you’re able to use more platforms. If you have a traditional blog, you can use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest just by promoting and repurposing your content.
Basically, having a blog on your website means you have a home for all of your content. It’s the cornerstone of your marketing strategy. If you need help building your website, let me know! I can create a beautiful and functional blog for you.
